Installing conveyor belt fasteners for splicing belt ends together is generally a fairly labor intensive operation. For instance, applicant's assignee herein has a commercial belt fastener installation tool called the MBRTA tool. As is known, conveyor belt fasteners are typically of either the hinge type that include upper and lower plates secured to one belt end and interconnected by arcuate hinge loops that are interfit with arcuate hinge loops of identical fasteners secured to the other belt end for receiving a hinge pin therethrough, and of the non-hinge type where the upper and lower plates of the fasteners are sized to span the adjacent belt ends for forming a rigid splice therebetween. The MBRTA tool is configured for use with non-hinge type or solid plate fasteners that have their upper and lower plates attached to the belt ends by rivets.
The MBRTA tool includes a channel base having an anvil upper surface such as formed on separate anvil plates to which the lower plate members of the non-hinged, solid plate fasteners are secured. To do this, a belt splice installer needs to insert several hold down clips between adjacent lower plate members, and then inserts a cam rod through aligned holes of the clips projecting below the web of the base member. For instance, with seven plate members connected in a strip, the installer has to insert four hold down clips between the adjacent fastener plates in the strip. With the cam rod inserted through the clip holes, the splice installer then turns the cam rod handles thereby tightly pulling down the clips which, in turn, pulls the fastener plate members down tightly onto the anvil plates fastened to the web of the tool base. The rotated cam rod is secured in place by inserting a lock pin in aligned holes of the cam rod handle and the tool handle. Generally, there will be a pair of cam rods that extend from either end of the base for splicing belts with a relatively long belt width.
After securing the lower plate members to the base, an alignment bar and guide block assembly is next employed for securing the upper plate members thereto. Rivet guide blocks have a block body of either elastomeric or steel material and are used to guide the driving of rivets through the rivet bores thereof. The rivet blocks are positioned with the rivet bores aligned with underlying apertures of the upper and lower plate members so that the rivets driven out from the rivet bores are then driven through the aligned plate apertures and the belt material therebetween. Because the block bodies are relatively heavy and are fixed to the alignment bar, the heavy weight of the alignment bar and guide block assembly makes manipulation thereof a more difficult task for the splice installer than is desired. In this regard, the splice installer needs to turn over the alignment bar and guide block assembly adjacent the base for being aligned with the bottom plate members that are secured to the base, as previously described. Thereafter, the installer places the upper plate members on the guide blocks and uses retainers to secure the upper plate members to the alignment bar with the guide blocks fixed thereon. After the upper plate members are all secured to the alignment bar and guide block assembly, the installer needs to lift the assembly and carry it to be placed out of the way so that the belt ends can be clamped to the tool. Again, lifting and carrying the alignment bar and guide block assembly is made more difficult than is desired because of the heavy weight thereof.
For clamping the belt ends to the tool base, a pair of square shaped tubular clamp bars are employed. The clamp bars each include a pair of screw clamp handles at either end thereof that are received in threaded openings formed in the base. Initially, one of the clamp bars is used for centering the first belt end over the lower plate members secured to the base. For this purpose, the screw handles of one of the clamp bars are inserted into threaded openings at either end of the tool base generally in a central area thereof slightly offset to the side where the other belt end is to be clamped to the tool. The first belt end is then slid over the lower plate fasteners and engaged against the central clamp bar. A problem that has been identified is that the lower plate fasteners, as well as the anvil plates, present raised catch points relative to the upper surface of the web immediately adjacent thereto making it more difficult to slide the belt ends into position.
Once the first belt end is abutted against the clamp bar extending generally centrally across the tool base as previously described, the other clamp bar is then connected to the tool base via the threaded clamp handles thereof at the side of the base having the guide surface along which the first belt end is slid into engagement with the central clamp bar. The splice installer then rotates the clamp handles to drive the clamp bar into clamping engagement with the first belt end. To make sure that the first belt end does not move during riveting operations, the clamp bar is provided with apertures so that the splice installer can drive nails through the tube walls of the clamp bar and into the belt thereunder. Nailing of the belt end after clamping is an extra undesirable step during installation of the belt splice.
With the first belt end clamped to the tool base, the splice installer next rotates the screw clamp handles of the central clamp bar in a releasing direction so the clamp handles are removed from the threaded openings in which they were received for removal of the clamp bar from the tool so that the second belt end can be slid into engagement with the clamped first belt end. As is apparent, threading and unthreading the screw clamp handles of the center clamp bar into and out from the threaded openings in the tool base is undesirably time intensive.
After the center clamp bar has been removed, the second belt end to be spliced to the first belt end is slid into engagement with the end edge of the clamped first belt end. Next, the previously removed clamp bar is connected to the tool base by threading the clamp handles thereof into threaded openings at the side of the base at which the second belt end is located, and then the clamp handles are turned in a tightening direction to drive the clamp bar into clamping engagement with the second belt end so that both belt ends are now clamped in place on the tool base with the end edges abutting each other. Again, the splice installer drives nails through the clamp bar and the second belt end thereunder so that the second belt end does not shift during riveting operations.
The installer then retrieves the heavy alignment bar and guide block assembly including the upper plate members secured thereto and threads the screw handles thereof into central threaded openings in the web of the tool base. Tightening nuts are then turned so that the upper fastener members are tightly engaged against the belt ends. With the rivet blocks and upper plate fastener members all secured in place, rivets are loaded into the bores of the rivet blocks and then driven through the aligned apertures of the fastener plate members and the belt ends therebetween for securing the belt fasteners to the belt ends and splicing the belt ends together.
As is apparent, there are several time consuming and difficult steps during the installation of the belt fasteners to the belt ends. Accordingly, a system and method of splicing belt ends together would be desirable that is easier and faster. More particularly, a belt fastening installation tool that is easier and faster to use would be desirable, particularly with respect to securing of the bottom plate members of the conveyor belt fasteners to the tool. In addition, an easier way to secure the upper plate members of the conveyor belt fasteners to an alignment device would be desirable.